Fall 2009: Integrate Line Power Eyes BE300

This Line Power Eyes palette from Shiseido Integrate came out last fall but I wasn´t quick enough to snatch it up on Adambeauty as BE300 (which is a limited edition color) sold out within a few days after he listed it. I found it again on Facial-Shop so I ordered it along with a few of the new Ettusais Jelly Glosses (to be reviewed soon...they´re really nice!).


I reviewed the green quad here and must admit that the quad in BE300 is even nicer (because the colors are even prettier in my opinion) =D
The texture is silky and smooth and the level of pigment is quite good. There is one cream shade (the white one for lining the lower inner 1/3 or your eyes), the other 3 are powders.


The quad contains 2 eyeshadow colors, one is a nice shimmery nude pink-beige and the other one is a golden color with some glitters in it. There is also a liner which is a deeper gray color with golden shimmer (which makes it look almost green).


The colors last all day on me (I always use an eyeshadow base) and there is no irritation at all. I´d have preferred if the golden shade would come without the glitters but overall the quad is really nice.

Fall 2009: IPSA Eye Color Duo 3 & Lip Gloss Duo 2

Yea, you´re reading this correctly: Fall 2009 =P I didn´t review these 2 items from IPSA earlier as I scored them on eBay just a couple of months ago (and then forgot to review). My review is probably not really useful anymore but might be you still find these goodies pop up on eBay from time to time =)


IPSA is a so-so brand for me. They make some excellent items (in particular their lipliners and lipsticks/glosses) but their eyeshadows are often a let-down.
I didn´t order anything from the fall collection last year as I found them too pricey but I scored both goodies on eBay for less than US$20 shipped so I couldn´t resist.

The Eye Color Duo is actually really tiny as you can imagine from the pic where I placed it beside the gloss!


Last year´s fall theme was "Urban Safari" (as I read here on my favorite blog Rouge Deluxe) and the case comes with a metallic pink and black zebra stripe design. The case itself feels a little flimsy and is made of plastic.
There is no mirror and only 1 sponge-tip applicator in the compact which is a bit weird for an expensive brand like IPSA. The overall quality of the compact (and shadows as I will write about below) reminds me more of a drugstore brand like say Shiseido Selfit. After all the retail price was around 3000 Yen which transfers to over US$30 for the 1.2g in the compact (I can get a pretty Kanebo Coffret D´or quad for just a few bucks more on Adambeauty!)


The color duo #3 Desert Walker (I know the box shows #2 as the seller accidentally put the compact in the wrong box..) is actually very pretty and I was lucky that the seller listed this along with the gloss as the other 3 colors didn´t appeal to me at all.
The color is a shimmery gray with colorful micro-glitters and a satin peach shade.
Unfortunately the texture of the duo totally sucks. The shadows are crumbly (creating a mess) and dry and have a very dull and uneven finish. Very weird in all honesty. Brands like Fasio, Kate and Integrate have much smoother and better textures and cost about half.


I am very glad I didn´t pay retail for this. In all honesty I didn´t need this duo at all =X
On the swatch you can see the strange uneven finish of the gray color. Both shades are on the sheer side, too.

The Lip Gloss Duo however somewhat makes up for the weak performance of the shadow duo. I had a sort of flashback when I saw the gloss! It´s the exact same thing as the PN glosses (check my MUA review here!) from like 5 years ago. This makes me realize once again that Shiseido owns IPSA!


PN was the predecessor of Maquillage and had really nice products (though Maquillage continues the quality well and improved many things like the eyeshadows!)
The texture is the same as the PN glosses (rather thick, sticky, long-lasting and glossy). The color is sheer but noticable.
There is a layer of more pigmented gloss on the bottom of the lipgloss bottle and a translucent gloss on top. When you pull out the clear flexible spatula applicator both glosses mix a little.


The gloss is really nice, I like it a lot! The color is #2 Twilight Beige which is a nice peachy beige shade.
This retailed for about 2700 Yen (a bit below US$30) and contains 8g.

Fall 2009: Integrate Line Power Eyes GR720 & Aqua Creamy Rouge PK308 + RD312

When I found the new Integrate fall stuff on Adambeauty I decided to haul one of the eyeshadows (the one I wanted initially had already been sold out *sniff*) and 2 of the lipsticks.
I am usually very happy with Integrate's lippies but was unlucky with several of their eyeshadow palettes.


The newest line of shadow quads is called Line Power Eyes and features 2 eyeshadows and 2 liners.
The 2 eyeshadows are a medium lid color and a slightly glittery highlighter and the liners are a deep one for eye definition and a white cream version for lining the inner corners.
Of course you can use the white cream liner as a base and the deep liner as an eyeshadow but Integrate recommends them as liners.


The amount of pigment is good and the colors work together nicely. The texture is silky and applies smoothly. I didn't notice any creasing either.

The colors are all basics and there are no remarkable or special color combos available. I think the no-risk colors are a typical thing for Integrate though. I anyway like the green palette I got.


GR720: contains a pretty neutral medium mossy green, a deep hunter green, a glittery pale green and a white cream liner.
Contains 3.5g. I paid US$19.50 on adambeauty.


I also picked up 2 of the new Aqua Creamy Rouge lipsticks.
The lipsticks come in sleek and simple silver/white metal tubes. The texture is really nice and creamy and the pigment is medium so it's quite good and with a few layers the color shows up pretty true to what you see in the tube. The finish is a satiny, a bit glossy look. Really pretty! As always Shiseido came out with a great new range of lippies!


PK308:The color on the right. This is a very nice pink beige. Very natural and flattering on me.

RD312: This is a brownish medium red. It's not really warm nor cool, rather neutral I'd say so it works for me. It's not too dark or bright so it's a very wearable neutral with a bit more color than other neutrals I use. LOTD pic shows this color.


Contains 2.2 g. I paid US$18 on adambeauty.

All in all I can recommend Integrate's newest fall collection. If you like good basic colors I am sure you can find a favorite in the new collection. If you want more daring colors then you'd rather like to look elsewhere.

Fall 2009: Etude House Moistfull Collagen (Part 1: base makeup)

Etude House's fall collection is called Moistfull Collagen vs. Code: B. Moistfull Collagen consists of various base makeup items and skincare whereas Code: B is the makeup color collection. Honestly Code: B is a snore and I only picked up one (but a very pretty) lipgloss up from the collection.


I however purchased quite a bunch of the Moistfull Collagen collection with mixed results. I like the original Moistfull range so seeing base makeup from the new improved series really excited me and I indulged shamelessly in quite a few of them.

I will review the makeup items in this post and leave the few bits of skincare for later.

The Moistfull Collagen base makeup collection consists of:
-Essence-In Primer (a dual-phase spray) - 10000 Won
-Essence-In Base SPF22 PA+ (pink or green) - 13500 Won
-Essence-In Foundation SPF22 PA+ (2 colors: #1 and 2) - 13500 Won
-Balm SPF36 (1 color only) - 16500 Won
-Essence-In Pact SPF25 PA++ (2 colors: #1 and 2)- 15500 Won


I got all items except for the primer spray.


Essence-In Base:
This comes in bulky plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. I got the pink version (#2 Shimmer Essence) as I thought it would do a nice job of illuminating my pale skin.


The base is a lightweight cream with a smooth and silky feeling when you spread it. It nearly covers nothing but as I expected brightens my complexion and gives a soft pearly sheen.


So far so good...but unfortunately my skin reacted almost instantly to this product. I got a red rash on my right cheek along with a burning sensation so I had to remove the base and I won't be using it again.

Essence-In Foundation:
The packaging is like the one of the Essence-In Base but the top part is purple instead of peach.


The texture and coverage (about sheer-medium and buildable) are excellent, very moisturizing and smooth. However the color (#1 which is the lighter one) is so off (too dark and yellow) that it looked so fake on me I had to remove it. I think this would be suitable for a NC20-25.


It leaves a beautiful dewy finish and it's really a pity that this doesn't work for me.


Balm:


The balm comes housed in a very pretty light peach compact with an opalescent top. The balm is tightly covered by a soft plastic tray and comes with 2 sponges.

This is the only product among the Moistfull Collagen base makeup series that works for me and I really love it (and will order a few more to store in the car, purse etc.). This is actually astonishing me as I expected this to be the item I would like the least.


This is a solid foundation balm which only comes in one color mixed with white swirls of moisture cream. Together they blend to a very light beige which is really *so* close to my natural skin color. I think this would only work up to a NC-20, for anyone more tan than this it will probably be too light.


I love using this when I am on the run and too lazy for makeup but still want even skin (coverage is medium) with a pretty dewy sheen.
I should add that the lasting power of this isn't that great, only 3-4 hours if you don't set it with powder.


This has a pleasant scent like all the Moistfull Collagen range. It's a lighter and prettier scent than the original series carries.
The balm came in a set with the Cream (will be reviewed later) which cost me 31500 Won. The balm came packed together with a sample of the cream, too!


Essence-In Pact:


This is the obligatory pressed powder from the Moistfull Collagen range. I was delighted to find a moisturizing powder compact from Etude House as I like some of their powders.
The compact is purple with an opalescent cover, just like the compact of the balm but in purple.


The Essence-In Pact is too dry for me and the color doesn't match either. It's a very light-toned powder but the yellow tones aren't suitable for me so I can't wear this either.
I even ordered 2 of this by mistake!


I think I should just stop trying foundations and stick with my beloved and trusted Maquillage foundation and powders! However the balm is a great addition to my morning skincare!

I got my stuff from etudegmark on Gmarket. I purchased a whole lot more stuff (especially from their new body care products) and got some nice freebies.

Fall 2009: Lunasol Star Shower Eyes 04 Star River & Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver

Again I have been posting so little *sigh*. Honestly I lost a bit interest in blogging lately as I am starting to get super busy with my studies (again) and I had a fraught emergency with my youngest Sara a week ago (she's all fine and well now but she gave me the most shocking 15 minutes of my life!) which just reminded me once again what matters most.

I am way behind my reviews, I have so much stuff probably good for 100+ postings and I will try to catch up on as much as possible over the next period. I also got so much cute Etsy and stationery stuff but will only post some selected items as I just don't have the time anymore to take pics of everything I get, sorry!


As every fall Lunasol added a new range of eyeshadow palettes to their range.
This year's series is called "Star Shower Eyes" and come in the same signature metallic chocolate bronze cases like the other palettes.


I don't know why but I wasn't that keen on the new Lunasol stuff however one of the palettes looked pretty so I decided to go for it.
I wasn't that keen on my Blooming Eyes (=Layer Bloom Eyes) palette as the result was a bit chalky and dull.
The Star Shower Eyes palette I chose is 04 Star River. I also got the palette in 05 Close of Night for my mum whom I made a fan of Lunasol hehe =P


The texture of the shades in the Star Shower Eyes palette is very smooth and packs good pigment in the purple and dark charcoal color. The white and silver are more sheer which is suitable for highlighting shades in my opinion.
To my delight all shades have a rather pearly instead of glittery finish. The shade at the bottom left has a fine multi-colored glitter but far less chunky and annoying as the glitter shade in most of the other Lunasol palettes.


The dark color at the bottom right has a very complex finish, almost like a soft metallic and not the dull dark gray found in many other brands. This is a vibrant and interesting color.
The purple is grayish so it flatters me perfectly. The top left shade is a pretty white highlighter and the slightly glittery shade below it is a light silver.

All in all a great palette I used several time already and got compliments nearly every time I wore it (something that rarely occurs honestly!).
I got this from Gooddealer.com who offered the best price for this palette when it came out. I think still you get the best deal there despite shipping and handling charges.

I also picked up the Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver. I actually don't know why I got this as I am not so much a fan of glitter shadow hehe.


This is a Limited Edition eyeshadow single which contains only glitter, no color so you're supposed to dab this on top of your regular shadows for added sparkle.


Actually I like this product, the glitter is very fine and elegant, I used this on top of the Star Shower Eyes palette and the result was stunning. This will be a cute little item for the upcoming holidays, too!
I got this from Gooddealer, too!

Here is a closeup pic of the Star Shower Eyes in 05. Since it was a gift for my mum there are certainly no swatches.


On another note: Here is some food porn =P We were invited to my cousin's graduation party and got these delicious dishes:

Salad with salmon as a starter


The main dish was delicious! Veggies, potato gratin and guinea fowl (a yummy type of poultry)


As dessert we got Panna Cotta with fruits